150th Anniversary

an important message regarding celebrating 150 years of education at Ardingly College

Following the measures to reduce the impact of Covid-19, especially on the most vulnerable in our society, the College will continue to follow the government guidelines in regards to events and social gatherings as well as regularly review all events attached to Ardingly’s 150th Anniversary in light of the health and safety of the Ardingly Community and the general public. As a result, we have chosen to postpone all Trinity term events. As soon as new dates are confirmed or further cancellations need to be made, we will update the information on these pages. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.

The school was founded in Shoreham in 1858 and moved to its present site in 1870. You can read more about the earliest days at Ardingly here.

We will mark this distinguished milestone with special events throughout the year. Highlights include the first amateur performance of The Wipers Times, the critically acclaimed play co-written by OAs Ian Hislop and Nick Newman; a reunion dinner for our first girls to coincide with the opening of our new day girls’ house, Burgess House; and a full day of celebration on Sunday 14th June, which will include a commemorative cross-country walk from Haywards Heath and the Sesquicentennial Chapel Service.

As we celebrate our history we will also look forward and consider how our campus and community will develop for future generations of pupils. For our campus, we are committed to planting 150 trees to mark this anniversary, and will be launching our campaign to build a much-needed theatre. For our community, we have set the ambitious goal of raising £1.5 million to double our newly-established Bursary Endowment Fund, ensuring that Ardingly remains accessible to all those with the talent and ability to thrive here. Achieving these aims will be the lasting legacy of this anniversary.

Join us as we celebrate the story of the last 150 years and look ahead to the next chapter of education at Ardingly College.